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We had a huge Dong Zhi festival at our house and I cooked a 7 course meal banquet style. Here was the menu. Appetizer: 1. Lamp Shadow Sweet Potato Chip (Sprinkled with a little sugar and drizzled with soy, hot oil, and sesame oil sauce) 2. Soup: Hot And Sour Soup Entree's 3. Sweet and Sour Chicken 4. Wok Sweared Green Beans (With Sweet & Pungent Meat Sauce) 5. Spicy Slices of Beef w. Tangerine Peel (With Sichuan Peppercorns) 6. Kung Pao Chicken Dessert: 7. Candied Tangerine Peel dipped in Chocolate

fresco: The one Chinese wok I have is some sort of steel -- not stainless, but not black steel. I've had it for maybe 25 to 30 years, so it's pretty well seasoned. It is actually more like an Indian karhi (sp?) in that it has a flat bottom. This I use only for stir-fries, on a gas burner with higher-than-normal BTUs (don't know the exact #, sorry). Before I got this stove, the normal heat output was not enough, even though I only cook for two (Sam is right about the need for very high heat to stir-fry properly). I also have the aforementioned All-Clad chef's pan. This I also use for stir-fries, on the same high burner. But because it has the stainless steel interior, I do other cooking in it as well. I will make or heat tomato or other sauces in it, to which I can then add pasta and mix it easily. I deep-fry in it; I saute in it; I steam vegetables in it; I have even used it to cook pasta, although the wide open top kind of defeats the purpose of boiling. For me, it is a very handy, multipurpose pan. The cookware with which I have home experience are: nameless aluminum crap; nameless enameled flimsy steel crap; Leyse aluminum; Magnalite aluminum (a 35-year-old formerly nonstick covered 10-inch straight-sided frying pan that will not die); 33-year-old Le Creuset; Lodge cast iron; and All Clad. Since I have not used other brands, I cannot say how they compare, or whether any of them is a "worst offender" (against what?). After all, I am also working with an N of 1, as Sam is, and I do not presume that "my experience" is definitive. I do feel it is somewhat disingenuous to make the kind of statement Sam does.

sam, you'd just *love* my non-stick "wok" from circulon. i love it.

Ah... you mean this thing. I used to have that pan, but somehow I thought they called it a wok. I stand corrected. It must be someone else who calls their curved sauteuse evasée a "chef's pan." Anyway, All-Clad's chef's pan is basically a flat-bottomed wok in clad aluminum with a handle. Fundamentally, it differs from a curved sauteuse evasée mainly by having a smaller flat cooking surface and more gradually curved sides. I am not sure this represents an improvement in either functionality or versatility. In terms of absorbing heat and conducting it to the food in a stir-frying situation, it has all the problems of the standard wok I described above when used over a normal heat source -- albeit somewhat better due to having an aluminum layer. It still proved, in my experience, to be less than satisfactory for stir frying on a residential stove. I found the larger flat cooking surface on my curved sauteuse evasée conferred significantly more versatility (indeed, I believe this is the most versatile pan in any kitchen) and eventually got rid of the All-Clad wok-ish Chef's Pan. This is not to say, of course, that some people wouldn't find it useful depending on their cooking style and practices. What do you use this pan for, other than stir-frying (or even incuding stir-frying), that you think it does better than you might be able to do using a large sauté pan with a triple-thick alumimum base? And, if one is considering budget, how do you think this functionality makes it worth an additional 75% to 150% compared to the sauté pan? I think it makes sense to call a pan by whatever happens to be its proper and most generally accepted name. That's why I say "chinois" and not "fine mesh conical strainer." The practice by which all the different manufacturers call their pans by different, and often contradictory names leads to too much confusion in my opinion (e.g., Calphalon's "omelette pan," which is really a fry pan and not an omelette pan at all). But, as they say: de gustibus non disputandum est.

Suzanne, what kind of wok(s) do you have and what do you use them for?

In my opinion/experience, most residential stoves comply cannot put out enough heat to make a wok useful as a cooking vessel. This is especially true of "authentic" carbon steel woks -- even those with flat bottoms designed for stovetop use. If you throw in any more than a tiny amount of food, the pan loses all of its heat and you are suddenly steaming your food in its own juices rather than stir-frying. The only wok designs I've seen that sort-of work on the average residential stove are the heavy cast iron woks by Le Creuset. For my own use, I've found a large stainless lined heavy copper curved sauteuse evasée, preheated for several minutes on high heat, works better than any of the many woks I've tried.

But seriously, folks . . . has no one yet said: WOK????? or, if we prefer western versions, an All-Clad Chef's Pan. If I had just that, a stockpot, and a small-to-medium saucepan, I'd probably do just fine on pots. Everything else is commentary.

Hi Tommy, Same here! I cook most of my main dishes in my non-stick Circulon wok and I love it!! Amy

Hi Sam, After over a week's thinking and re-thinking and calculations and making lists. I have decided to take your advice and carefully select the pieces that I need instead of buying a set. That way, I can still try out different brands. Yes, you are correct. So what exactly will call for a sauté pan? I have a Circulon Wok that I pretty much do all my main cooking on. I just need to replace my saucepans and stockpots and frypan which are either warped, useless or teflon is coming off, respectively. Non-riveted handles is for sanitary reasons. Food can get stuck under the rivets. Also, I hate to bump into the rivets when I wash the pots. I guess we are just used to no rivets. But I can live with rivets on the fry/omelette pans and wok. I have never used carbon or black steel pans. And I don't think I will feel comfortable using one. So I will stick with your Calphalon recommendation. Or a Scanpan non-stick.....also. Sam, what's your take on this http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...0DER&st=kitchen Sitram Universal SS Steamer? Does it work well? Thank you for your time. I really appreciate your input. More are most welcome. Amy

I love table-top cooking so could you be kind enough to go into more detail on this burner and pot that you mention? Thanks. Since one picture is worth 10,000 words, here are pictures and descriptions of a burner and a pot similar to the ones we use. We don't usually shop at the Wok Shop, as they are pricier than other Asian goods store, but you can order from them if you can't find what you want locally. The butane burner gives a nice high heat and is nearly odorless. All the ventilation you really need is to crack open a window nearby. We use a spicy broth on one side of the pot, and a mild one on the other. Butane Burner "yin-yan pot" (I suspect the Wok Shop made that name up).

Just so I wasn't mistaken: I have no objection to Whole Foods, Wild Oats, etc., I just find them expensive. Except for bulk dry goods an bulk herbs, which are a great deal. And I don't mind paying for fish. So you touched on some of my favorite places already: Pacific Mercantile: Decent fruits and veg, fish (esp. if you just want a small piece of tuna or the like to cut up yourself for sashimi), condiments, Japanese pickles, tea, rice, etc as would be expected. Octopus and fish roe for my 9-year-old and funky candies the other kids like. They also sell a commercial wok ring that I covet but have no room for in my kitchen. Staff speak very good english which is often not the case at other places. Pacific Ocean: One of my first jobs in Denver was at a Cherry Creek restaurant - the cooks and I would sneak out between shifts to shop there. It's still like going abroad. Cheap fresh herbs, asian vegetables, an entire isle of noodles...I like browsing through the kitchen equipment (more commercial wok rings - can anyone tell me how to rig one up in the back yard?), amazing barbecue. I go back and forth on the fish there, but at least you can prod and sniff an poke at it (very much unlike Marczyk's). I forget the name of the other place perpendicular to it on the south side, but I've never much liked it there for ill-defined reasons. Marczyk's: I have it on authority from a good friend that Peter is a great guy. He did give me a free oyster once while I was shopping, so I see no reason to disagree. (I left with a dozen.) I was, however, once scolded by the butcher for touching the shell of an oyster in the case (wanting to see if it would close) which I found annoying. Why have an open case otherwise? I'm sure he had good health dept. reasons, but I do like to get close when I'm paying that kind of coin. So I have mixed feelings about the place. Great cheeses. I continue to go, but don' rely on it yet as a mainstay. Oliver's Meats on 6th Ave: The best butchers around. They can make recommendations on how to cook/make anything - from demi-glace (you can also just buy it) to pork sausage to fish. Need frog legs? Hog casings? Duck breast that isn't frozen? A $30 steak? The clientelle can be a little snooty (who else can afford prime) but the guys behind the counter are anything but. I couldn't recommend them more for fish, meat, and first-rate knowledge they're willing to share. Speaking of Oliver's - can anyone remember the name of the bakery across the street? It makes the trip to Olivers worth the dash across sixth during rush hour for the one-two punch. As an aside - also across the street is Clair de Lune. Ate there once for a significant anniversary; I wanted to like it more. The whole story is great - chef scales down to do what he wants to do as an owner/operator, but I wasn't as impressed as I wanted to be. But I digress... And I will get the name of my favorite bakery over in Northwest Denver. It's down the end of 32nd St away from Mondo Vino and all the shops. Hands down the best; I believe it's the Denver Bread Co. or something to that effect? Albertson's on Alameda and Broadway: It's no great secret being a chain, but that's where I tend to gravitate for everyday Mexican ingredients. They do a lot of volume so things tend to be fresh and inexpensive. For those who don't mind shopping online: I used to live in the Bronx and have fond memories of shopping on Arthur Avenue: http://www.arthuravenuebronx.com/ I too need to confirm some addresses before I post anymore, since I navigate more by instinct or compulsion. i.e. Komart for stinky kimchee down on Havana - passing Sir Loin on the way - another excellent butcher. I forgot who mentioned it - looking forward to Parisi's - I haven't really found an Italian place that grabs me yet. Spinelli's on 23rd is good for some things; I do buy all my pasta there. Thanks for your contributions and I'll look forward to reading more. Is anyone interested in commericial equipment/cutlery suppliers open to the public? I have two - any guesses?

Yes, you are correct. So what exactly will call for a sauté pan? I have a Circulon Wok that I pretty much do all my main cooking on. I just need to replace my saucepans and stockpots and frypan which are either warped, useless or teflon is coming off, respectively. Sauté pans are useful for... (wait for it)... sautéing. The sauteing process is where ingredients (usually in "chunk" form) are jumped around in the pan over high heat so as to brown them evenly on all sides. A sauté pan is also useful for times when you would like to fry something, then add liquid and a lid for a quick braising/reduction. I also like to use a sauté pan for making quick pasta sauces, because I can toss the not-quite-cooked pasta into the sauté pan along with the sauce to cook for the last minute or two. If you're happy with your wok (which is a pan that I personally don't care for over a standard residential heat source) then you probably don't need a sauté pan. Seems like a standard steamer pot to me (which is to say, a pot that fits on the top of a pot of simmering water and has a perforated bottom to allow steam to pass into it). I don't do a lot of steaming, so I can't tell you exactly how it works. But it's not clear to me that an expensive steamer insert works any better than a cheapo folding steamer you can get in the hardware store for 3 bucks.

Why? Portugal is a smaller country, therefore with a little less geographic and agricultural diversity than Spain, so unavoidably the 'variety' factor is less powerful. However, Belgium is also much smaller than France, yet the Belgians shouldn't feel any complexes about their great food! I believe Portugal is so strong in so many areas (dried codfish, fresh fish, shellfish, suckling pig, soft cheeses, vegetables, soups, 'conventual' sweets, dry table wines, fortified wines...) and even in cooking techniques (the cataplana should be promoted internationally as a 'double wok', and it could become the next great utensil in kitchens!) that it's just a matter of exploiting them adequately and of working on updates of the traditions for Portugal's cuisine to thrive and its gastronomic reputation to grow.

Going to do the hot pot tomorrow night. Will try it in an electric wok. Going to try: Lobster Tails Dungeness Crab Shrimp bean thread noodles fried tofu eggplant spinach chicken or beef(if I find good beef in the store tomorrow) Sauces 1. Hoisin with bun bread, scallions and cucumber 2. ginger, garlic and sesame oil 3. ginger and scallion 4. chili 5. jalapeno and garlic

Shucks, why would you want to do that? I rely heavily on both of those for most of my cooking at home. A nice wok is a pretty righteous cookware item too. If you don't have a wok, get one and a rice steamer and go to town. i have a spun steel wok (not stainless) which is nicely seasoned. cooked a couple of times in it i have a ricecooker ( a gift) sits unused. i live alone, instant rice is easier.

Shucks, why would you want to do that? I rely heavily on both of those for most of my cooking at home. A nice wok is a pretty righteous cookware item too. If you don't have a wok, get one and a rice steamer and go to town.

So happy you enjoyed the recipe. You can adapt it for a Whole Crispy Sea Bass. To prep the fish: Butchering the fish: Use a 2 1/2 lb. white fleshed fish such as a sea bass. Lay the fish on its side and holding your knife at a 45 degree angle to the cutting surface make 3 or 4 incisions across each side of the fish. Each cut should go all the way to the bone and be parallel to and about 1 1/2" away from the previous cut. When properly done you should have 4-5 flaps of meat on each side, with each flap firmly attached at the bone. Dredging and frying the fish: Using a large wok heat 8 cups of vegetable oil until it is very hot: 375 degrees F. Make a cornstarch slurry (with cornstarch and water), and have 1 1/2 cups of dry cornstarch on a piece of wax paper. First dredge the fish in dry starch, then dip it in the slurry and then back in the dry starch. This triple starch application is a professional chef's trick for getting an extra crispy coating. Shake off any starch that doesn't cling to the fish , and then gently lower the fish into the oil. Make sure there is at least 2" between the edge of the wok and the level of the oil. This so the hot oil doesn't spill out when the fish is placed in the wok. Cook vigorously over the highest heat, until the fish starts to lightly color, about 5 minutes. Working gently (the fish will be fragile) remove the fish from the wok and let the oil reheat for a minute or two. When it is quite hot and almost smoking, 375 -400 degrees F., return the fish to the oil for about 2-3 minutes, until the batter is medium brown and quite crisp. Drain well and using a paper or kitchen towel dab away any extra oil that sticks to the fish. Place the fish on a serving platter while making the sauce. To make the sauce: use the technique and sauce recipe that I have listed above for Prawns with Chile Sauce, but add 2 T each of minced bamboo shoots and mushrooms (cut to the shape of pieces of rice) and omit the catsup. Also add 1/2 cup chicken stock and 1 T kikkoman soy and 1 T dark soy. Bring the sauce to a boil, thicken with cornstarch slurry and just before serving add some chopped scallions and 1 t sesame oil. There should be enough sauce to coat the fish and the plate around the fish. Serve immediately.

Asia de Cuba at the Clift. Here are some menu examples of their Japanese/Cuban thing: STARTERS: Oxtail Spring Roll Siracha Ketchup and Black Bean, Cubcumber and Tomato Relish Szechuan Spicy Scallops Smoked Tomato and White Corn Salsa Verde, Chorizo-Lemongrass Espuma Lobster Potstickers Vanilla Bean Spiced Rhum and Lobster Coral Sauces, Roasted Sprout Salad Ropa Vieja of Duck Calabaza, Snow Peas, Cucumbers and Hoisin Port Sauce, Lettuce Cups MAIN: Miso Cured Aslaskan Butterfish Cuban Black Bean and Edamame Salad, Tempura Shisito Peppers Hacked Lime and Garlic Duck Braised Baby Bock Choy, Roasted Garlic, Lime Segments Char Sui Beef Short Ribs Congre Tostones, Chili Orange Mojo Honey-Rhum Glazed Pot Roast of Pork Sauteed Shanghai Bok Choy, Fried Plantains and Enoki Mushrooms Hunan Whole Wok Crispy Fish Stuffed with Crab Escabeche, Red Pepper Sauce Lobster Mai Tai Rhum, Coconut, Red Curry and Wok Crispy Boniato Very cool dining room.

Here is some advice from a Taiwanese chick who grew up cooking on nothing but woks, go to China town and get yourself the cheap stainless steel version that comes with a ring on the bottom so that you can stand it on your stove top. If you are in NY, I'll show you where to go for it.

unless you have a professional stove in your kitchen, I wouldn't use a wok at all. I usually use my All-Clad saute pan to do the individual ingredients, then pile everything into a preheaded oversize cast iron for the final mix/heat. stovetop woks can't maintain the necessary temps on residential stoves (all that surface NOT exposed directly to the heat). I own a wok, but it's been years since I've used it (eagerly awaiting a commercial stove in my kitchen, which will no doubt be a while).

I'm very surprised by all the comments on cleaning woks and trying to keep them shiny. Woks should be treated just like cast iron skillets. Season them when their new and never use soap to clean. As soon as you're done cooking, take a big natural hair heavy duty brush (sold for about $2.50 along side wok utensils in Chinatown and restaurant supply places) and rinse the inside under water. Throw it back onto the burner you just used which is still hot and the residual water should evaporate in a few minutes. Black isn't ugly when referring to cast iron or woks, it's the sign of a well used, high quality kitchen tool. If you live in an area where they are readily available, you shouldn't have to pay more than $25 for a wok that will last you the rest of your life with every day use. I've commented in the past on this at this thread on woks. As Hest88 said, "Get a carbon steel wok from Chinatown. It's light enough to fling from sink to stove and back again. It's easy to clean (once properly seasoned) and it's cheap enough so it won't matter if you bang it up. I've had mine over ten years. It's black. It's ugly. It's irreplacable..."

What do you think your Le Creuset wok? Is it worth the price? Traditionally, both cast iron and carbon steel are used, to my understanding. But are they used for different applications, or for the same?

I have one of the Le Creuset Woks and it is only enameled on the outside.

I concur with most of the posts. Get a carbon steel wok from Chinatown. It's light enough to fling from sink to stove and back again. It's easy to clean (once properly seasoned) and it's cheap enough so it won't matter if you bang it up. I've had mine over ten years. It's black. It's ugly. It's irreplacable to me. My only other advice is to get the biggest one you can handle. Makes it harder for food to fly out.

Yes, like most of my attempts to mimic any Asian foods, there is a missing secret ingredient to this. (Of course, I rarely use actual Chinese roast pork, and probably don't use as much oil as most Asian restaurants use in their noodle dishes.) This is like that comment on one of the epicurious recipes where the cook made some Mexican thing but left out the cilantro and cumin and used tomatoes instead of chillies and then complained that it didn't taste very Mexican! I'm not trying to be harsh, but it is sort of funny...before you worry about secret ingredients, you could always start with the obvious ones. For um, "singapore" noodles (if I'm divorced over this, I'm blaming you all), you need the style of curry powder used by HK/Cantonese cooks. It's in Asian groceries and comes in a yellow tin and is usually made in Malaysia. Typical noodles would be beehoon, or the rice vermacelli that you soften in warmish water right before you're ready to cook them until they're "al dente" and then drain them. You can make it with fresh rice noodles (fun) if you like. You'll also need peanut oil or lard, light soya sauce, char siu (the BBQ'd pork, don't get siu yuk or roast pork), shrimp, bean sprouts, green onions, and egg omlette or whatever is in your favorite version (sometimes they use bok choy instead of sprouts, or regular onion instead of green onions, etc). The char siu and omlette gets cut into strips, the onions cut into similiar lengths, the bean sprouts rinsed, the shrimp sprinkled with a small amount of sugar and salt to keep them crisp. Because I don't have the fire power the restaurants do, I tend to stir fry the non-noodle part in the all-clad saute pan and the noodles in a nice cast iron frying pan (or steel wok) seperately and mix them together at the end. The trick is to not overload the pans, let the pans and oil get blazingly hot and be quick. If you can get good versions of this in restaurants, it's hardly worth the trouble of doing it at home. I generally fry the noodle with some of the curry powder and soya, and the onion, shrimp and omlette with more curry powder and soya to taste. Toss them together with the bean sprouts and you're done. I like the bean sprouts to be barely cooked, but if you like them more cooked you could add them to the non-noodle part of the stir-fry. It's true that SE Asian "curries" or noodle dishes tend not to rely just on curry powder and if curry powder is used it's a different animal than the bright yellow stuff. The rempah at our house is made from shallots, chillies, galangal, fresh tumeric, candlenuts, and belecan, but then for Nonya chicken curry we add some curry powder made up to the partner's nonya stepmum's specifications in S'pore and coconut milk. For fish curry, no powder, no coconut, and fenugreek is added. For assam soups or "curries" you add tamarind, etc. I think Singapore noodles get called that because they're yellow and seasoned differently from most other HK/Cantonese food and people think "Singapore" when they see them (why not Indonesia, Malaysia or Macau, I don't know). regards, trillium